These striking blue marron are found in the wild throughout the South West and Great Southern and have been a popular addition to lounge room aquariums for at least 30 years, but why are they blue?

The Albany Advertiser spoke with Department of Fisheries principal research scientist for fresh water fish production Craig Lawrence to learn more about these vivid crustaceans.

Dr Lawrence said the bright blue hue of the marron is due to a genetic mutation but they are the same species as the common black and brown marron.

He said it’s a simple recessive gene being expressed that gave the normally black or brown creatures their distinctive blue colouring.

“They used to be very, very rare until people started farming them,” he said.

“if you mate two blue marron you will get blue progeny but if you mate a black and a blue you will get mainly black progeny and if you mate those progeny together you will get some blues too.”

Dr Lawrence said the blue marron had been cultivated for ornamental market as they fetched a good price from people wanting to use them in aquariums.

“But you wouldn’t really want to have blue marron in a commercial food marron farm,” he said.

This is because the blue marron turn an orange colour rather than the bright red associated with cooked crayfish.
“Restaurants prefer the dark black or brown marron because they cook up a bright red,” Dr Lawrence said.

“It’s an amazing resource to have in WA and I think we should really appreciate.

“Marron is the third largest fresh water crayfish in the world and overseas they are farming animals to grow to the size of your thumb or about 30grams, here we are growing animals of 250-300grams.

“Marron are really very highly regarded outside of Australia and I think we take our rather unique fish for granted.”

They look like ceramic models you would find as decoration on a seafood restaurant wall, or in a kids play set. Probably the blue colour is so unusual hard for the eye/mind to comprehend it's real. Pete

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source

Honestly I cannot see what all the fuss is about with marron, or yabbies for that matter. Give me a good old Mandurah blue swimmer crab plus a decent cold beer and I would be more than happy any day.

The means may be likened to a seed ,the end to a tree;
And there is just the same inviolable connection between the means and the end
as there is between the seed and the tree.
............. Mohandas Karamchand GANDHI